How to back up your iPhone with iCloud
Your iPhone has become the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you look at before sleep. It’s where all of your irreplaceable photos are. It’s where you write down genius ideas during meetings. In other words, you use your phone for everything.
So what would happen if you lost or broke your iPhone? Sure, you would just get a new one, but would you have everything backed up somewhere so you could quickly restore your data?
Don’t worry. Keep reading, and we’ll go over the best way how to backup your iPhone to iCloud, what that backup does and doesn’t include, as well as any gotchas to keep an eye out for.
What is an iCloud backup and what does it include?
An iCloud backup is a little different than just syncing with iCloud. Think of a backup as a snapshot of your entire phone, capturing all of your data and settings. And the great thing about iCloud is that it automatically backs up your iPhone once a day when the device is connected to Wi-Fi and power and its screen is locked.
This is what gets backed up to iCloud:
- App data
- Settings
- Photos from camera roll
- iMessages
However, iCloud does not back up things that you can easily redownload in an effort to save space and time. So, it doesn’t back up things like:
- Apps
- Movies
- TV shows
- Music
How to manually backup iPhone
While iCloud backups were designed to work automatically, you can still initiate one manually if you’d like.
Here’s how to back up your iPhone to iCloud manually:
- Plug your iPhone into a power source and connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Go to Settings > iCloud Account Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup.
- Tap Back Up Now.
Leave your iPhone to complete the backup. It should be locked until iCloud is done.
How long does it take to backup an iPhone?
It all depends on how many files you need to back up and the speed of your internet connection. But normally, it takes between 20 minutes and 2 hours. If it takes longer, you may have a lot of data-heavy apps and a large amount of content. It often happens if you back up your iPhone for the first time, so have some patience. Subsequent backups should be faster.
How to fix iCloud backup taking forever?
As mentioned, iCloud backups can take a considerable amount of time, especially the first time. And while you can’t always influence your internet speed, you can definitely slim down the data you’re backing up.
Cleaning up your photo library can help make your iCloud backup faster because the more photos you have, the larger and slower your backup is. You can use an app like CleanMy®Phone to find and remove similar photos, screenshots you don’t need anymore, and other photo clutter that’s taking up space on your phone and in your backup.
How to backup an iPhone to iCloud
Setting up iCloud Backup on your iPhone couldn’t be any easier. The first thing you should do is make sure you’re signed into your iCloud account, and then follow these steps:
- Plug your phone into a power source and connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Go to Settings > iCloud Account Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup.
- Toggle the iCloud Backup switch on.
The first time you back up, it may be best to let your phone charge overnight. That way, it will have plenty of time to complete the entire backup.
Why is my iPhone not backing up to iCloud?
When it comes to backing up your iPhone to iCloud, one of the most common assumptions is that your phone does it automatically. Well, unfortunately, just because you’ve logged in to iCloud on your iPhone, it doesn’t mean the backups are automatically on.
Two factors could contribute to why your phone is not automatically backing up:
- iCloud Backup is not configured. iCloud has to be configured to automatically back up your phone in Settings > Account Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup — just like we outlined above.
- Not enough iCloud storage. iCloud only gives you 5 GB of free cloud storage, so unless you’re paying for extra storage, then there’s a good chance you’ve maxed out your space already. You might want to check out what else you have syncing to iCloud. Then, you may want to try using an app like CleanMy®Phone to help you trim some weight off your photo library or check out our article iCloud Storage Full: How to free up space in iCloud for more ways to make room in iCloud.
If you’re still having issues backing up after you switch on the automatic backup setting, check out this guide on how to fix it when iCloud backup is not working.
Well done, your data is now backed up to iCloud! As dependent as we all are on our iPhones, you can now be sure that none of your precious files is lost. And if you want to know how to use your backups, here’s an article on how to restore iPhone from backup easily.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I backup my iPhone?
Here are the most common reasons why you cannot backup your iPhone: software is not up to date, you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, and you don’t have enough iCloud storage. In some cases, there may be a profile restricting iCloud backups, like an enabled VPN or a profile installed by an organization if you have a corporate or used device. You can check it in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
Why won’t my iPhone backup when I have enough storage?
If you have enough iCloud storage but still can’t complete a backup, you need to check the internet connection, ensure that your iPhone is charging, and avoid using it. It’s better to lock your screen and let the backup complete.
Why is my iCloud backup taking so long?
Most likely, it is because you have a lot of large files and data-heavy apps. Sometimes, it may be due to the slow internet connection. Finally, it may be because of the problems with Apple servers. You can check the latter here — if the dot next to iCloud backup is not green, you’ll have to wait until Apple fixes the issue on their side.
